Food & Health

Home & Garden

Travel

Protecting Florida’s Springs

Posted by Trish Riley, January 30, 2014

Florida Spring Institute President Bob Knight said pollution combined with decreased flows from people pumping too much water out of aquifers is posing a serious threat to what he calls the first tourist attraction of Florida—springs.

“When you reduce flow in a river you reduce the productivity of everything in it. You reduce the productivity of the plants and the fish and all the wildlife that depend on the river. You reduce the ability of the river to support recreation and aesthetic properties,” Knight said.

Knight said under state law, there’s supposed to be a limit on how much water people can pump out of the underground aquifers and rivers. They’re called minimum flow standards.